Winter’s grip loosened again today and, with roads once again functional and buses running normally, it was business as usual at Old Moor today.
The morning began very well and the Early Birders reported that sixteen whooper swan, divided into two groups of seven and nine were on the Wader Scrape and Wath Ings respectively.
Five of the nine whooper swan on Wath Ings today
In fact there were sixty species of bird recorded at Old Moor today. In the Bird Garden and Tree Sparrow Farm were: blackbird, blue tit, bullfinch, buzzard, chaffinch, dunnock, goldfinch, great tit, greenfinch, kestrel, long-tailed tit, magpie, pheasant, reed bunting, robin, song thrush, sparrowhawk, starling, stock dove, tree sparrow, woodpigeon, wren and yellowhammer.
On the Reedbed Trail today were sightings of: one beaded tit, one bittern, a water rail, one singing Cetti’s warbler and a cream-crowned marsh harrier. With them were four pochard, two little grebe, three tufted duck and a pair of mallard.
On the Mere were: thirty cormorant, two ringed plover, two dunlin, three shelduck, two mute swan, two goldeneye, two lesser black-backed gull, four oystercatcher, two redshank and a great many black-headed gull. Later this afternoon, I gather that the recent, adult Mediterranean gull returned to island one.
Black-headed gull, ice and waves on the Mere this morning
The Field Pool was dominated by around 400 wigeon but there were also: two herring gull, three snipe, two more lesser black-backed gull with coot, moorhen and a single pied wagtail.
On the Wader Scrape along with seven whoopers were: one great crested grebe, three goosander (two females) and two more oystercatcher.
Finally, to Wath Ings where today there were: nine whoopers, a green woodpecker, two more oystercatcher, two more goldeneye, ten lapwing, a common gull and two more snipe. There were also mute swan, Canada geese, teal, pochard, tufted duck, wigeon and crow.
Those crow seemed to be usually distracted today by the arrival of an unexpected visitor to the shores of the main marsh – a brown hare. In fact two of them made it their business to see off the hare and mobbed it until the unfortunate mammal showed them a clean pair of heels!
Well, hare today – gone tomorrow!
Sadly, that’s about it for this evening. I will finish with another picture from today. I stopped by Wombwell Ings on my way home to reassure myself that the yellow-browed warbler was still out there and doing well. I need not have worried. After all, what’s a few snow flurries to a bird that breeds in Siberia!
Until next time.